Needle protectors are well known in the field of blood donation. Needle protectors are used to shield a used needle and, thereby, protect the medical personnel from an accidental needle stick. blood donation or collection kit, which includes a needle attached to one end of a needle hub. The other end of the need hub is attached to a length of plastic tubing that provides a flow path to one or more containers used to collect the donated blood. The needle protector is often provided as a sleeve placed around the plastic tube. The plastic tube extends through the needle protector, entering through one open end and exiting through an opposite open end.
After blood donation, the tube is pulled by the medical technician to retract the needle and needle hub into the needle protector. The used needle is, thus, shielded from the medical technician.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,800,400, 6,042,570, and 6,165,157 are just a few of the many examples of known needle protectors. The needle protectors disclosed therein, and in other U.S. patents, include features to provide protection of medical personnel from accidental needle sticks. The needle protectors may also include features which prevent movement of the needle during blood donation, which could cause discomfort to the donor.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,157 describes a needle protector that includes restraining means which restrain movement of the needle hub when the needle is inserted in the arm of the donor. The needle protector also includes locking means to secure the used needle in a completely shielded position after use.
While needle protectors such as those described above in the aforementioned patents have worked satisfactorily, efforts continue to provide a needle protector that assures the safety of the medical technician, is easy for the technician to manipulate and/or operate, and provides maximum comfort to the donor. Efforts continue to provide a needle protector that achieves these ends and combines them in a needle protector that is also easy and inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use by the medical personnel.